The Pianist
by BellaMadelyn
Summary: House and crew encounter a girl playing piano. Who the heck is she? Features my own OC. By popular demand always wanted to say that! this is NOT DONE. Following chapters will be up soon!
1. Prologue

There is a piano in Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital because of Dr. Gregory House. No one else has ever been seen playing it, and it is seldom noticed, except for the odd thought in passing of _why is there a piano in a hospital_.

* * *

House was sitting in his office, legs propped up on his desk per usual, playing his Gameboy while Cameron, Chase and Foreman bickered about their latest patient, when he heard the opening strains of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The deep sounds of the lamentation echoed through the halls and House found himself putting down his game and sitting up. Without a word to the others, he grabbed his cane and huffed out into the hall.

He came within sight of the piano as the second movement began and stopped in his tracks. Sitting on the lacquered bench was a young woman with shoulder length, straight, sandy blonde hair. Her nimble fingers flickered across the keys and he could see one foot caressing the pedal below. The other foot was curled underneath her in a distinctly childlike manner.

Others had followed the music as well. Cameron, Chase and Foreman had followed House, Wilson was watching from the other side with a smile on his face and Cuddy had just come up behind House. All of them, with the exception of both House and Wilson, were wondering _who is this person_? The young pianist stayed gentle on the keys as the Sonata continued, straying from the norm of the flamboyant final movement.

The song ended and she rested for but a moment before beginning again. The soft notes flew past and her fingers skated across the keys in quick precise movements. Unbeknownst to most, she missed a key and thus, missed a step in the adagio. House, who had heard this particular concerto many times before noticed however. And _that_ is what settled his conclusions.

Branching off from the crowd, House and his cane made their way over to Wilson, followed closely by Cuddy. When he arrived and saw the woman from Wilson's perspective, his conclusions were affirmed, completely. Taking a bottle surreptitiously from his pocket he gently, trying to be quiet, popped the top off the bottle and popped a pill into his mouth. At the sound of rattling pills, the pianist hesitated for an instant and then continued as if nothing had happened.

Her blue eyes flickered from the top of the piano to House and the hint of a smile fought at her lips. When her eyes met Wilson's, she didn't bother hiding the smile because they both knew what she was doing to House. A new form of torture that only she could master. As the Sonata came to an end the second time, she rested her hands in her lap, before rising and turning to leave through the crowd of people that had gathered.

Quick only when he wanted to be, House followed her swiftly and grabbed her waist with his cane, before she even made it past his trio of doctors. She stopped immediately, as if she had anticipated it and turned around slowly. Her blue eyes looked up in a matching pair and she said nothing, just stared.

"You missed a step on the adagio," House said gruffly, releasing his cane's grip and leaning heavily against it.

"I always have," came the woman's reply, no trace of gruffness or offence.

"Well, fix it."

"I was taught that way."

"Who the hell taught you that?"

"You." The woman smiled up at House and reached up to run her hand along his perpetual five o'clock shadow. "And you really do need to shave."

Always one for the last line, House replied with a quick comeback. "The ladies love the scruff."

"And they dig the cane too, eh?" she replied easily, tapping his cane with one of her shoes, echoing a reply he'd once given. "I never got the fascination, but…" She trailed off, not bothering to finish, knowing House would understand the jab at his masculinity.

Leaning up, she quickly brushed his cheek with a kiss and twirled around, heading towards Wilson's office.

"Who was that?" Cameron asked, coming up beside a slightly dazed House.

"Lenny."

"Lenny?"

"Lenny… my daughter."


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

1983

"I'm pregnant."

The words echoed through Gregory House's mind and bounced around inside, confusing and perplexing him. In typical male fashion, he replied with the ever eloquent, "How?"

The woman across from him, Sarah, rolled her eyes, propping her elbows on the Formica table between them and stirring her tea absentmindedly. She laughed softly and looked at her boyfriend.

"You see Greg, when two people love each other…" she trailed off, trying to hide her smile behind the mug, though she knew she would fail. When she smiled, her nose crinkled, which couldn't be easily hidden by the tiny diner mugs. House looked at the table with a smile. Behind the smile though, was fear and apprehension.

House was in his final year of fellowship and was about to begin work as an attending. He couldn't handle a child, much less a wife if she decided she wanted to get married. Pushing those thoughts away, he looked back at his girlfriend.

"When?" Sarah had become used to his taciturn and almost aloof nature and responded to cover all the bases.

"I took an at-home test a couple weeks ago and I went to the doctor this morning," she replied sunnily. "I didn't want to tell you until I was sure." Sliding a sonogram across the table she added, "I'm at thirteen weeks and… it's a girl, Greg! We're having a baby girl!"

_Thirteen weeks. That's practically the whole first trimester. _And as if she was reading his mind, Sarah continued. "I didn't know if I was just having morning sickness, or if it was the chemo, so I decided to wait."

House studied the sonogram intently, counting ten fingers and ten toes, running his finger down the curve of her spine and letting his finger rest on the writing that read: Baby Girl House. Sarah had given the baby his last name.

* * *

"Breath Sarah!" House grunted, wincing from the pain Sarah's hand was inflicting on his own. He wiggled his fingers inside the fist she had made around them and inhaled sharply when she dug in her nails.

Crying out in obvious pain, Sarah panted as the contraction passed. Taking the only chance he had, House ripped his hand out of hers under the pretense that he was going to wipe her face. In truth, it felt like she'd broken every tiny bone in his hand. Grabbing the damp cloth, he moved out of the reach of her flailing hands and patted her forehead.

With a couple more screams and a lot more panting, House found a pink bundle being pushed into his arms. Looking down he saw the typical scrunched up face of a newborn, thinking for a moment that she looked like his grandfather. A nurse bustled over with a sheet of paper.

"What's her name," she asked brusquely, pen poised above her clipboard.

"Lenora James House," came the equally brusque reply. He handed the infant back to the nurse and went back to Sarah's side, where he was promptly pushed away.

"Go with the baby," Sarah said quickly. "I'm fine… please." With a nod and a kiss, House followed the nurses to the neonatal unit where they nestled his daughter into a clear plastic basinet.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see his best friend, James Wilson, standing beside him.

"That her?" he asked, pointing to the newborn. Squinting, he struggled to make out the baby's name. "Lenora. I guess that means Sarah shot down Leia?"

"Yeah, she said no to Adrian, too. And Iris. And Lolita," House added with a shrug. "How could anyone say no to Lolita?"

"I think that was the problem," Wilson replied, turning away from the window as a flurry of doctors and nurses rushed by. The echo of a page rung through the halls as the two men stood by the nursery window. As a doctor approached them, Wilson handed House a small pink gift bag. Pulling out the tissue paper, House revealed a tiny McGill University sweatshirt, to which Wilson shrugged.

"Dr. House?" The doctor asked uncertainly. When House nodded he continued. "I'm sorry, but your wife-"

"She's not my wife," House interrupted sharply, anticipating what was coming.

"I'm sorry, Miss James suffered a heart attack after giving birth and though we tried to resuscitate her-" the doctor paused, trying to find the right words, and failing "- she died."

House didn't speak; he merely turned to look at the squirming form of his daughter, completely ignoring the doctor beside him. He heard Wilson murmur some things to the man and then felt Wilson's hand on his shoulder once more.

"Wasn't Lolita the name of a child prostitute?"

* * *

In the following weeks, House and Wilson struggled to care for the infant Lenora, whom they had lovingly dubbed Lenny. They went to Sarah's funeral and went back to work, going through the motions. Refusing to take time off of work, the two friends took turns watching Lenny, which is how it went for the next few years. It was like Three Men and a Baby, only there were two, and instead of serenading her to sleep, House played the piano.

The little girl grew up on grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk, the typical staples of a normal childhood. But instead of watching Doug and Rocko's Modern Life, Lenny watched monster truck races and professional wrestling. Her favorite wrestler was Shawn Michaels and she practiced his "Sweet Chin Music" religiously until she mastered it. It quickly became apparent that Lenny was a brilliant as her father and as compassionate as her "uncle", and when she won a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school so told her father in her proud seven year old way, that she was going to be a doctor, just like him.

And she did.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

2007

Lenny House walked into Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with the air of someone who knew she was special. And she did know. Lenny was the only child of, perhaps, one of the greatest minds in medicine and as one of the youngest doctors at PPTH, Lenny knew she was great in her own right.

That was the thing with family legacies. Lenny had to work twice as hard as the rest of her peers because she had a chip attached to her last name. Fortunately for her studies, Lenny was a single-minded and stubborn as her father, which gave her quite the edge.

She walked past the clinic desk and down the halls, her heels clicking gaily as she made her way to the Oncology wing. Much to her father's chagrin, Lenny had become an oncologist just like her uncle, but to make her daddy proud she specialized in nephrology. She passed House's office without a glance, but quickly doubled back, and snuck in. Luckily, his office was carpeted, so she didn't make that much noise.

Circling around the desk, she took a bobby pin out of her hair and picked the lock on the second desk drawer; the one she knew was kept locked. Pulling out a framed picture of herself at her high school graduation, she placed it prominently on the desk, front and center.

She heard the glass door open and ducked under the desk, peeking out to see who had entered. _Chase… nice_.

Straightening up, Lenny flung herself into the chair gracefully and turned her pretty face to Chase, blue eyes blazing with mischief.

"Fancy meeting you here, Australia," she said with a smile.

Chase whirled around at the voice and nearly dropped the coffee grounds in his hand. When he saw who it was, he breathed a sign of recognition. "I work here," he replied with a bit of confusion.

"Fine," Lenny huffed, glaring at the blond. "Don't play along, whatever!" She untangled her long legs and quickly strode across the office and out the door without looking back. She stopped a few feet from the door, leaning against the wall, one foot tapping the linoleum. Within seconds, Chase was in the hallway beside her.

"Wow," she said with awe. "Only took you four seconds." She smirked at him, which he returned with a glare. With a glance around the hall, scanning for someone recognizable, Lenny grabbed Chase's hand and dragged him down to the Oncology wing, heels clacking and blonde hair flying.

"So," she said brightly. "This is my office!" She was sitting on her desk, which was utterly bare. Everything was bare in fact; the entire office was empty except for the desk, a wastepaper basket, and a box of Lenny's things. "And…" she continued. "You're going to help me fix it!" She grinned cheekily at her companion and slid off the desk. Kneeling next to the box, she pulled out a hammer and a box of nails and tossed them to Chase. Then she pulled out three framed diplomas and stood up, to the questioning glance of Chase.

"What?"

"Why do you have three diplomas?"

"Because Robert Spencer Chase, _I_ am smarter than you… DUH!"

Chase's reply was a glare, to which Lenny laughed. One by one, they hung up the three diplomas, one for each specialty the young woman had mastered. As Lenny was adjusting the final frame, Wilson opened the door and walked in.

With a squeal of glee and a huge smile, Lenny leapt into her uncle's arms and hugged him hard. He was the reason she had a job here, behind her father's back, and she was more than happy about that.

"I see you've already stolen one of you dad's employees," Wilson said with a smile, nodding towards Chase.

"Oh, he came willingly," Lenny replied, smirking.

"I'll bet he did."

"Hello!" came Chase's indignant exclamation. "I'm still in the room!!"

Wilson and Lenny turned to each other and laughed, confusing Chase even more.

* * *

"Spence!"

House and his three fellows turned when Lenny slammed the office door open and marched into the room. "You," she said, pointing at Chase. "Get you ass back to Oncology! NOW! You're working for _this_ House today." With that said, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the office.

Three heads turned to Chase, who merely laid his head down on the table.

* * *

Greg House walked down the hall, cane whacking the floor and sneakers making a faint squeaking noise as he went. Stealthy he was not. He pushed open the door to his daughter's office, which he found vacated and settled himself down into her chair, feet up on the desk. Naturally, since it seemed to be part of the House family legacy, he pulled open the desk drawers and rifled through Lenny's possessions, pulling out papers and notebooks.

Lenny opened he door to find her father nosing through her things and just leaned against the doorway. She knew he wasn't going to find anything exciting in there. The only personal touch she had in her office and was three framed photos on her bookshelf. And a stash of Hershey's kisses hidden in a hollowed out Lupus textbook that House had given her on her graduation.

"It's never Lupus," he had said as he handed her the book.

"Everybody lies," had been her comeback.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry the chapters are so short!! I'm working on making them longer!! And thanks for the reviews!! Keep 'em coming, this is the first time I've written a House fic, so I need imput. 3 B 


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